Currently, metal parts are fabricated from sheet and plate product forms into, but not limited to, fuselage skins, wing skins, and other structures for aircraft by using systems including shot peening, ultrasonic peening, and laser peening. Shot peening works well on thinner material but is difficult to control, such as when precision processing of a part is required. For thicker materials, large shot peening is required to process the part. Large shot peening may damage the surface of the part to the point where additional processing steps may be required to meet surface finish requirements. Ultrasonic peening and laser peening are used on both thick and thin metal components, but such systems require a substantial amount of time to process the metal components into the desired final condition. Additionally, laser peening requires high investment levels for both initial capital and later recurring costs. A need exists for providing an easily adjustable mechanical system to process components varying from thin sheet metal to those greater than one inch thick, where precise finishing of such metal components may be achieved more economically than presently available.
Conventional machines for peening metal parts have a limited range of available impact energies and impact reciprocation rates. Such limitations of metal peening machines correspondingly limit the types, materials, and geometries of the parts formed by the machines.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.